Typewriting machine



A. G. F. KUROWSKI TYPEWRITING MACHINE May 8,1928.

Filed Jan. 9. 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 //7 V6)? for:

May s, 1928. 1,668,915

A. G. F. KUROWSKI TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed Jan. 9. 1926 2 Sheets-Shea; 2

by WM Patented May 8, 1928.

FATE? ALFRED G. F. KUROWSKI, O13 BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR 'IO UNDERWOOD ELLIOTT FISHER COMPANY, OF NEW' YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAVTARE.

TYPEWRII ING MACHINE.

Application filed January 9, 1926.

This invent-ion relates to a decimal tabulating key mechanism for typewriting machines, and one of its main features is the facilitating of the manipulation of tabulating keys by the expedient of differentiating the key which is most used from the other keys.

Some typewriters are equipped with a set of decimal keys which release the carriage and are also effective to arrest the same at selected denominational positions. In the present invention, advantage is taken of the fact that, when a long series of tabulating operations is performed, most of the items thereof have the same number of digits, as, for instance, when tabulating gas or electric bills, most of which are for amounts between one and nine dollars.

This invention is especially adapted to machines having depressible key-levers which are placed in a row in front of the keyboard, such as occur in the well-known Underwood standard typewriter.

Sometimes, in order to make the machine;

more adaptable to the requirements of different establishments, it is desired to provide means whereby any one of the tabulating keys may be readily set to be actuated by the operation of a palm-key. According to one form of the invention, in which this idea is carried out. there is provided a cross-shaft overlying the key-levers which shaft is provided with an arm settably mounted thereon. Said arm is designed to engage the top of the selected key and to de ress the same upon aetuation. of the palm-key which is operatively connected to the shaft.

According to another form of the invention, means are provided for operating the first tabulating key by means of a palmkey which may be placed at'the left-hand side of the keyboard. One of the features of this form of the invention relates to the constructional features of the device which adapts it to be built as a unit, to be attached to any standardmachine without evennecessitating the drilling of any holes in the frame thereof.

According to still another form of the invention, there is provided an actuating lever which is swung by means of a palm-key and may be extended to press either the first or the second tabulating key. In this form, advantage is taken of the fact that usually Serial No. 80,164.

either the first or the second tabulating key is used more than the other keys, since they represent the highest denominational column, which permits the operative to move the carriage to its exact position by operating the space-bar.

A further advantage of this invention relates to its adaptability to be used in connection with the Underwood combined typewriting and computing machine in which the keys, owing to certain well known constructional features of the machine, are sometimes hard to depress. By means of this invention the depression of the key which is most usually operated is considerably lightened, thereby improving its touch which is desirable.

Gther features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 isa front elevation, partly in CIUSS-SGClllOIl, and shows the invention as applied to an Underwood standard typewriting machine.

Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1 showing the palm-key actuating 0n the first tal ulatingkey.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view in elevation through the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure-4t is a cross-sectional view through the line 4t of Figure 1, and shows the first tabulating key in its operative position.

Figure 5 is a similar view showing the palm-key in effective position.

Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the roek-shaft-actuating means, and the keyoperating arm.

Figure 7 is a front view, partly in crosssection, of a modifiedform of the invention, and shows means for operating either the first or the second tabulating key.

Figure 8 is a plan view of the modified form shown in Figure 7.

Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view in elevation through the line 99 of Figure 8.

Figure 10 is a crosssectional view showing the modified form of the invention in which provision is made for operating the first key.

Figure 11 is a side view of the. modification shown in Figure 10.

This invention is illustrated, as applied to an Underwood standard typewriting machine, in which a plurality of depressible tabulating keys 10 are arranged in a row in front of the keyboard. The mechanism, which is operated by the depression of the tabulating keys, broadly consists in releasing the carriage of the machine, and in arrestingthe same in any of a plurality of 'denominational positions. This mechanism is not shown in this invention because the sameis well standardized in the Underwood machine.

It'is one of the main features of this invention to selectively depress any one of the keys 10 by the operation of a palm-key 11, which is placed for the convenience of the operator at the left-hand side ofthe machine. According to the preferred form of this invention, there is providedashaft 12 which overlieskey-levers 13, and is journaled in brackets 14 which are fast to the frame 15 by means-of screws 16. The shaft- .is operatively connected to the palm-key 11 by means of a cam-plate l8-which is fast to the palm-key by means of rivets 17. Said plate 18 is pivotally mounted on a stud 19, the plate being designed to engage-the under side of a roller 20 which is-secured to theshaft 12 by means of-a screw 21. It will be seen that, by depressing palm-key 11 to the dot-and-dash position shown in Figure 1, the shaft 12 will be swung, and, since there is provided a rearwardlycxtending arm 22 fast to the shaft 12 by means of a screw 23, the lever 13 underlyingthe arm provided a roller 24 which may be rotatably' mounted on a shouldered screw 25 fast to the arm. 22. In Figures 4 and 5, the operated and inoperated positions'of the first tabulating key are shown, the relative po sitions of the arm 22 and the roller 20, which are both fast to the shaft 12, being shown in Figure (3;

According to a modified form of-the invention, there is provided mechanism for operating either the first or the second tabu-- latingkey by means of a palm-key 26, Said formlis illustrated in Figures 7, 8 and 9, and

comprises a lever 27 pivotally mounted on a stud 28 which is fast to "the frame One side of the lever 27 is designed to engage a roller 29 mounted onthe key-lever 13 by means of a bracket 30, the latter being secured to: the key-lever by means of screws 31. The other sideof the lever 27 is engaged atthe under side thereof by means of a pin 32fast to a bracket 33 whichforms an integral part of, the palm-key; 26 .and is rotatablymounted on a supportingstud 34 fastto the frame 15. For conveniencein manufacturing, it may be desiredjto make the pahn key 26 separate from the bracket 33, inwhich vease the two are. attached togethenby'meansof rivets 35, as shown. in

Figure 7. In order to actuate the, second key, the lever 27, which is shown in dot-and- .dash lines in Figure 7, is cut out at 36, so

as to clear the first tabulating key, thereby permitting the unobstructed operation of the second tabulating key.

Usually it is only necessary to operate the first tabulating key which represents the highest denominational column, in which case numbers having less digits are typed by spacing the carriage by means of the space-bar. In order to suit this condition, and in order thatthe device may be supplied to be attached to a standard machine, another form of the invention has been devised andis illustrated in Figures 10 and 11. In this modification it is proposed to provide a Ushaped bracket 37 designed to straddle the left-hand sidebar frame of the machine to which the bracket is secured by means of screws 38. In order to reinforce said bracket 37 there is provided, at-the bottom thereof, a plate 39which serves as a spacer between the open endsof the bracket 37. Said plate 39' is held in place by means of screws 40 and serves as-a means for receiving a screw 41, which engages the under side of the frame and forces the bracket downwardly to be squared against the top of the frame. It will be noted that by means of this construction a rigid'bracketmay be attached to the machine without any machining thereto. Said bracket is provided with an inwardly extending arm 42, which carries a supporting stud 43 upon which a lever 44 is rockably.mounted. A palm-key 45 is fast to a supportingv stud 46' by means of a screw 47, said stud being journaled in an inwardly extending bracket 48 which is bent out of the bracket 37 and forms an integral part thereof.- Said stud 46 protrudes outwardly to one side of the bracket 48, and carries fast thereto an arm 49 which extends downwardlyand inwardly and car ries a pin 50 atthe end thereof designed to engage a slot 51 inthe lever 44, thus providing a positive connection bet-ween said arm-49 and said lever 44, so that when the palm-key 45 is depressed the first tabulatingkey will also be depressed bymeans of the herein-described train of connections. In order to restore the palm-key to normal position after each depression, there is provided a spring-52 which may actuate between the lever 44 and a supporting stud 53',- the latter being'fast to the bracket 37. The travel of the key is limited by means of a pin 61 which is carried by the bracket 37.

In order that the palm-key 11 may be held in its. normalposition,there is provided a aleeaele of a tab 55 which strikes the frame 15. For convenience in manufacturing, said tab 55 may form an integral part of the plate 18.

The means for controlling the travel and the restoring of the palm-key 26, illustrated in Figure 7, is accomplished by means of spring 55) which forces the palm-key to its normal position, in which it is held by means of a bent tab 58, forming an integral part of the bracket 53. Said spring 59 is wound around the stud and actuates between the lever 27 and a fixed point, which may be the frame of the machine.

Variations may be resorted to Within the scope of the invention, and portions of the improvements may be used Without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. The combination, in a typewriting machine, of a series of depressible denominational tabulating keys, a cross-shaft overlying the tabulating keys, a palm-key, means for operatively connecting the shaft to the palm-key in a manner to rock the shaft when the palm-key is operated and settable means on the shaft for selectively depressing one of the tabulating keys When the shaft is rocked.

The combination, in a typewriting machine, of a series of depressible denomina tional tabulating keys, a cross-shaft over lying the tabulating keys, a palm-key, means for operatively connecting the palm-key to the shaft in a manner to rock the shaft upon depression of said palm-key, and an arm settably mounted on the shaft in a manner to depress a selected tabulating key by the rocking action of the shaft.

3. The combination, in a typewriting ma chine. of a series of depressible denominational tabulating keys, a shaft overlying the talmlating keys, fixed brackets in which the shaft is journalcd, a palmkey, means for operatively connecting the palm-key to the shaft in a manner to rock the latter upon operation of the former, and settable means for operatively connecting the shaft to one of the keys, so that the selected key will be operated when the shaft is rocked.

41-. The con'ibination, in a typewriting inaehine, of a series of depressible denominational tabulating keys, a rock-shaft overlying the keys, fixed brackets for supporting: the shaft, a roller on said shaft, a palmkry, an extension on said pahnkey for engaging said roller, so as to rock the shaft upon depression of the palm-key, an arm settable upon said shaft, and a roller mounted on said arm in a manner to engage and depress atabulating key upon rocking the shaft.

The combination, in a typewriting machine of a series of depressible denominational tabulating keys, a rockably mounted palm-key, a rock shaft journaled in fixed brackets, means for operatively connecting said palm-key to the shaft in a manner to rock the shaft when the palm-key is operated, and settable means for operatively connecting said shaft to a selected one of the tabnlating' keys in a manner to depress the latter upon rocking of the shaft.

6. In a typewriter tabulating mechanism, the combination of a series of denominational tabulating keys, a palmkey, an actuator operated by said palm-key and extending along said series of denominational keys, and a device settable along said actuator to be controlled by the palm-key and to oper ate any tabulating key to which it is set.

7 In a typewriter tabnlating mechanism, the combination of a series of denominational tabulating keys, a palm-key, an actuator operated by said palm-key and extendingalong said series of denominational keys, and a device settable along said actuator to be controlled by the palm-key and to operate any tabulatingkey to which it is set, said actuator in the form of a rock-shaft, and said scttable device in the form of an arm mounted upon said shaft to rock therewith and slidable along the shaftfor engagement with any denominational key.

ALFRED G. F. KUROVVSKI. 

